Rain and coastal spray from lakes and oceans contain enough dissolved gases, carbonic acid, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, ammonia and particulate matter to make them chemically active. Similarly, most ground and municipally supplied water, while generally safe for drinking, cooking, washing and bathing, still contains enough salts, hard water minerals, bacteria, organic and inorganic contaminates and water treatment chemicals to also be chemically active.
When either source of water is allowed to evaporate on most siliceous and nonsiliceous surfaces such as glass, porcelain, ceramic, marble, granite, polyurethane, polyester, polyacrylic, melamine/phenolic resins and polycarbonate, it combines with ordinary soil to promote the formation, adhesion and build-up of insoluble mineral deposits, lime scale, rust and soap scum. This ongoing exposure to chemically active water contributes directly to increased soiling and to the costly surface damaging cycle that results from scraping and scrubbing with harsh cleaners and cleansers to remove the insoluble buildup.
Thus, until rain, ground and municipally furnished water is completely deionized and demineralized, any kitchen and bath surface exposed to water and water-containing spills and splatters (such as sinks, counters, ranges, ovens, cooking and washing appliances, bathtubs and shower enclosures) remains subject to the adhesion and buildup of water insoluble soil.
To remove water insoluble soil, homemakers and cleaning professionals have turned to stronger and stronger cleaning aids including powerful acids and alkalis, penetrating solvents and a broad range of abrasive cleaners. The inevitable result of using such harsh cleaning aids is a surface destroying cycle. The stronger the cleaning action, the more it opens the microscopic pores and increases the hydrophilicity of the surface. The more open and vulnerable the pores, the deeper the new soil penetrates and the greater its adhesion and build-up, and the stronger the cleaning action required to remove the soil with greater and greater destruction of the surface finish. Although microscopic at first, this cycle ultimately leads to surfaces that are visibly rough, exhibit the loss of color and sheen, and become more prone to soiling.
It has been established that the soil and water repellency of surfaces can be improved by the use of silicone compositions. There has been extensive research and development involving silicone compositions for rendering surfaces water repellent. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,612,458 (Stedman) discloses the application of substituted polysilicanes to windshields to achieve repellency. U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,653 (Matlin et al.) discloses improved compositions employing alkoxy groups in the polysilicane to improve the repellency. U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,390 (Fain et al.) describes a paste containing a solid rubbing agent and an alkyl alkoxy silane which when rubbed on a glass surface provides repellency. U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,541 (Fain et al.) discloses acidic solutions of alkyl alkoxy silane monomers that produce rain repellent films on glass and which are also solvent resistant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,540 (Ohlhausen) discloses water repellent film-forming compositions of alkylpolysiloxanes and acid, or alkylpolysiloxanes, acid and solvent which result in durable and effective water repellent films on various surfaces. Further improvements in solventless compositions for treating porous and nonporous surfaces have been made as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,181 (Ludwig and Ohlhausen). The '181 patent satisfied a need which existed for soil and water repellent compositions that eliminate solvents and utilize the silicone more effectively and economically. Additional improvements in soil and water repellent compositions were made by providing physiologically acceptable compositions that were nonirritating to the skin of the user as disclosed in U.S. pat. application Ser. No. 09/941,896, filed Aug. 28, 2001 (Ludwig and Ohlhausen), now U.S. Pat. No.6,676,733.
Many different types of hard and soft surfaces have also been rendered antimicrobial by coating with different agents. Organosilane quaternary nitrogen compounds have also been employed effectively in eliminating and/or reducing microbial contamination when applied to a variety of surfaces. For instance, bacterial, viral and fungal contamination may be eliminated or reduced when such organosilane quaternary compounds are applied to surfaces. Commercially available quaternary ammonium organosilanes which have been used for this purpose include 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldidecylmethyl ammonium chloride, and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyltetradecyldimethyl ammonium chloride.
Notwithstanding the improvements that have been made over many decades of research and development regarding cleaning or coating compositions for various surfaces, there still exists the need for further improvements.